Kettlebell Tricks to not involving shoulders at all in the swing?

[kettlebellklutz]

as a new kettleball swinger i have to get over the mental hurdle of letting the ball sweep through based on the momentum from my hip hinge but i still feel like i might be using shoulders a bit.

any tricks or tips to avoid this?

thanks!

 

[fractal]

as a new kettleball swinger i have to get over the mental hurdle of letting the ball sweep through based on the momentum from my hip hinge but i still feel like i might be using shoulders a bit.

any tricks or tips to avoid this?

thanks!

In ETK, Pavel demonstrates swings holding onto a towel looped through the handle of a bell. It'll get really ugly if you're using your arms.

 

[Anna C]

Yep towel swings are good, also just practice swinging the bell low, keep the shoulders relaxed and don't worry about the bell going up to chest height. Then start to add power with the hips only, keeping the shoulders relaxed but packed (pulled down towards your hips) and arms relaxed but straight, like ropes. Throw the bell with the hips like you're going to throw it out in front of you if you let go of it towards the top of the swing. Build power.

 

[Steve W.]

A cue that I use is to think "Arm Down!" as I am extending my hips out of the hole. This reminds me to keep my arms locked in to my torso as long as possible, until momentum naturally causes the bell to float up and take my arm with it. Keeping the arm down makes for much better power transfer and the bell will float up higher than if you are actively pulling with your arm -- but don't focus on how high the bell goes; just focus on the mechanics of the swing.

It's a little counterintuitive to think "down" when the goal is for the bell to go up, but I find it really helps a lot. The hips provide the power; the arms are just a link to transfer that power to the bell.

I've also had people do belt swings, where the KB is attached to a belt around the waist, and the swing is performed with hips only, without the arms even touching the KB. It's an effective drill for a lot of people (and reinforces hinging over squatting), but it's awkward to set up, and there is a danger of slamming the KB into the floor, so it has to be done on a surface where this won't cause any damage.

 

[simon0596]

Try concentrating on keeping your upper arms glued to your chest for a few swings. Obviously, you won’t be able to swing too hard without it feeling really strange, but a couple up to not-quite-chest height should give you a cue.

 

[Chrisdavisjr]

+1 for the towel swings. What weight of kettlebell are you currently swinging? Using a heavier kettlebell, if that's an option for you, can force a shift of muscular emphasis from the shoulders to the hips.

A lot of those who are new to kettlebells will start with too light a kettlebell for swings and find it too easy to use the shoulders to assist in the lift. Using a heavier kettlebell and performing even partial range swings (i.e. below chest height at the top of the swing) can be helpful in learning to load the hips more effectively.

If all else fails, you could try to pre-exhaust your shoulders with some dumbbell front raises or similar prior to starting your swings so that they're too fatigued to get too involved in your swings, however this will interfere with your get-ups (if you're training them in the same session) so it's less advisable, being something of a 'brute force' tactic.

 

[WhatWouldHulkDo]

I second the votes for heavy low swings. I still experience this - when I swing a heavier bell, it becomes very obvious if I try to pull with the shoulders - to the point where I gave myself a neck strain on a day when I was being stupid about it. It's a mental exercise too - accept that you don't have power yet to fire the heavier bell all the way to chest height, be disciplined and get it as high as you can without feeling any stress in the shoulders/traps. Then when you drop back to your normal work weight, it just feels like it's floating.

 

[Im out]

Dont bend at the elbow, keep it straight

 

[StanStan]

as a new kettleball swinger i have to get over the mental hurdle of letting the ball sweep through based on the momentum from my hip hinge but i still feel like i might be using shoulders a bit.

any tricks or tips to avoid this?

thanks!

Well, if you know what you're doing wrong, you're halfway there!

To add one more tip: forget about the height. Pick a weight that you feel comfortable swinging without losing form.

 

[WxHerk]

as a new kettleball swinger i have to get over the mental hurdle of letting the ball sweep through based on the momentum from my hip hinge but i still feel like i might be using shoulders a bit.

any tricks or tips to avoid this?

thanks!

First, it's a kettlebell not kettleball.

That said, throw with the hips. Hang on to the bell but snap the hips as if you are trying to throw the bell on a straight line using hip power only and then briefly planking at the swing's apex. Bring the bell back just below your zipper on the return. You should be thinking "throw/plank/zipper..throw/plank/zipper," and so on, but executing a bit faster than you would say that.

 

[JeffC]

Lats tight, chest up.

 

[Marc]

When I dislocated my shoulder last year, 1H swings were the first KB exercise I did (~3 weeks post injury with 32).

-think of the arms as a lifeless hook. All the work is done by the hips/glutes/legs
-don't worry swinging too high
-lats tight, shoulders down and packed

 

[fractal]

First, it's a kettlebell not kettleball.

That said, throw with the hips. Hang on to the bell but snap the hips as if you are trying to throw the bell on a straight line using hip power only and then briefly planking at the swing's apex. Bring the bell back just below your zipper on the return. You should be thinking "throw/plank/zipper..throw/plank/zipper," and so on, but executing a bit faster than you would say that.

The cue for ballistics I've nearly tattooed onto my arm is to finish the hip extension. If you watch Pavel's swings in ETK, they pop in an instant and his relaxation following it is truly impressive. Following Bret S' cue of keeping the arm connected to the body until the last possible second when the hips snap and knees extend sharply makes for a very snappy ballistic.

On the most recent strongfirst podcast (#10) the guest was talking about how its not just the speed of power delivery that makes for athletic performance, but the speed at which you can relax after delivering the power - this is might be partially why the WTH effect is so strong. These are the thoughts that have been swirling around my head this week...